Latest content: Social development

Over two days, Commonwealth Education Ministers, senior officials and other stakeholders met to chart the way forward for education in the 56 member countries. The education ministers met at Marlborough House in London for the Commonwealth Education Ministerial Action Group (CEMAG) on Thursday, 11 May 2023.
Read news - Ministers and senior officials agree on strategies to accelerate progress towards education goals
After several years of online meetings due to the COVID-19 pandemic, last week, members of the Commonwealth Advisory Committee on Health (CACH) met in person for the first time since 2019 to discuss and advance key areas of health priorities ahead of the 35th Commonwealth Health Ministers Meeting (CHMM) next month.
Read news - Commonwealth Advisory Committee convenes its first in-person meeting since 2019 ahead of Health Ministers Meeting
The Commonwealth Secretary-General, Rt Hon Patricia Scotland KC, is in Papua New Guinea this week where she met with Prime Minister the Hon James Marape to discuss issues of mutual interest and strengthen partnerships between the Commonwealth and Papua New Guinea. The Prime Minister and Secretary-General also had fruitful discussion on gender issues, climate action and youth empowerment.
Read news - Commonwealth Secretary-General visits Papua New Guinea to strengthen partnerships and encourage action on gender issues
As countries recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, and face the compounding challenges of global inflation, debt, climate change and sociopolitical scenarios, there is a need to explore new investment strategies to accelerate economic development, build resilience and balance competing environmental, economic and social pressures. In this context, the concept of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) as a framework for sustainable growth has gained new relevance. This paper discusses the potential benefits of ESG in terms of enabling sustainable economic growth in the Commonwealth, including possible technical assistance, capacity building and policy development on ESG for public debt management and improved public sector sustainability, including collaboration with International Financial Institutions financing standards.
Read publication - Environmental, Social and Governance Practices for Value Creation in the Commonwealth
As the 2022 Commonwealth Games opens in Birmingham today and the Commonwealth Decade of Sport commences, the Commonwealth Secretariat is working to leverage the vital role that access to sport can play in promoting peace, better health, equal rights and sustainable development across the Commonwealth’s 56 member countries.
Read news - The Commonwealth Games are an opportunity to promote inclusion and advance human rights through sport
The biennial Commonwealth Heads of Public Service and Cabinet Secretaries meeting is currently underway virtually. Commonwealth Secretary-General, Patricia Scotland, and the Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Amor Mottley, opened the forum by delivering keynote addresses highlighting the need for collective efforts to deliver sustainable and effective performance in government.
Read news - Commonwealth’s top civil servants discuss strategies to build robust public service
The Commonwealth Secretariat will host its 2nd Biennial Pan-Commonwealth Meeting of Heads of Public Service and Cabinet Secretaries in June. Confirmed speakers include the Prime Ministers of Barbados and Bhutan, cabinet secretaries, former senior government officials, academics, and representatives of international organisations.
Read news - Commonwealth Heads of Public Service to discuss government performance management for sustainable development
Following the establishment of the Commonwealth Women’s Affairs Ministers Action Group (CWAMAG) in May 2021, Ministers reconvened virtually on 26 April 2022 to continue their efforts to monitor the impact of COVID-19 on gender inequality in the Commonwealth.
Read news - Women’s Affairs Ministers discuss the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the lives of women and girls across the Commonwealth